Summary: Motor neurons relay signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscles that perform behaviors. However, studies across phyla indicate that motor neurons also contribute to the function of pattern-generating circuits.

Summary: The endocannabinoid system in zebrafish is pivotal to the development of the locomotor system, and perturbations of the system early in life alter morphology, locomotion and development of motor neurons.

Summary: Forces experienced by the limbs of racehorses during galloping increase with speed, concomitant with predictions from duty factor, though show an approximate 50:50 front:back impulse distribution, suggesting symmetry may be beneficial for injury avoidance.

Highlighted Article: The effects of seasonal acclimatization on cardiac responses to low temperatures are stronger than those of acclimation to similar temperatures in laboratory conditions, highlighting the importance of seasonal cues for cardiac remodelling in a eurythermal fish.

Summary: Newly described muscle fibers control a soft, flexible surface that the marine slug Aplysia californica uses to feed on seaweed, suggesting a novel mechanism for constructing a soft grasping device.

Summary: Zebra finches are less motivated to court videos of females than live females, but courtship songs to these stimuli are similar in performance, suggesting a dissociation between motivation and performance.

Summary: Computed tomography imagery in a finite-element model predicts that larval fishes detect acoustic pressure but that this pressure sensitivity declines ontogenetically, likely altering the detection and use of acoustic cues.

Other journals from The Company of Biologists

Editor-in-Chief Hans Hoppeler and Monitoring Editor Craig Franklin highlight new initiatives at JEB in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To continue advancing knowledge in the field, we are encouraging proposals for meta-analysis papers and timely Reviews and Commentaries within the JEB remit. New grant categories analogous to the Travelling Fellowships will fund collaborative data projects and the development of online resources for early-career researchers. Read their Editorial to find out more.

In their Review, Hanane Hadj-Moussa and Ken Storey assess OxymiRs in over 20 animal species. They reveal a lack of universal microRNA strategy, showing that instead there are species-specific responses to oxygen deprivation.

Researchers at nine institutions in Ireland can now publish an unlimited number of Open Access articles in JEB, immediately and at no cost to them, following a three-year Read & Publish agreement between The Company of Biologists and IReL. Find out more and see the growing list of participating institutions.

We are expanding the Conversation series to focus on the experiences of researchers out in the field. We’ll go behind the scenes as researchers tell us about their experiences on trawlers, in deserts, up mountains and in the remotest regions of the poles. Find out more about the series in the Editorial.

In the first interview, JEB author and editor Craig Franklin talks about the risks and challenges of working in remote areas with animals in their natural environment.